Hertford Junior School

This is the 4th year of the Poetry in Motion project with Brighton University.  Our marvellous young poets wrote their poems on the theme of flight, echoing the theme of Hertford Schools Children's Parade this year.  We then recorded the audio of the children performing their poems and sent those to the university students.  We had a meeting with the students so that they could meet the poets and find out more about the poems and start to share ideas.  The students then worked on animating the poems.  The variety of styles and approaches to the poems was astonishing!  We are really happy to share these with you.  Enjoy!

Summer 2023 saw another full Rap'n'Rhyme club writing brilliant poetry on the theme of flight, which we then performed at the wonderful Jubilee Library to an appreciative audience.

 

TAKING FLIGHT

Kay Walton

 

Shake your wings 

And feel the breeze brush through the plumes

Stretch them out and hold them to the sun

Turn your face towards the sky and feel the blue

Lift yourself high above

See the shadows far below you

Cast your weight against the wind

 

They can’t touch you now.

 

See the air around you it’s so clear and pure

Open up your eyes and see for miles

Never let them clip your wings or ground you

Taking flight is part of who you are

 

See the shadows far below you

Cast your weight against the wind

 

They can’t touch you now.

 

And it’s a long way down

But you don’t have to take the fall

It’s a long way down

So, stay aloft safe and sound

High above it all

 

Still your soul with wings of silk and silver thread

Shake the earthly dirt from off your feet

Fly with all the angels who are guarding you

Keep within your heart their kisses sweet

 

See the shadows far below you

Cast your weight against the wind

 

They can’t touch you now.

 

The Secret Life of Snitch

Jana, Millie, Grace

 

I’m encased in this tragedy of a box

A prisoner of fear

Madam Hooch clicks the locks

My freedom is finally near

 

Thousands of eyes watch me escape

Including the seekers’ deadly gaze

A golden glow dresses my cape

I’ll never be captured in a daze                         

 

Hiding myself in the speed of light

As Harry’s touch skims my skin

I bolt out of his sight

In this game, who will win?

 

A dark hole appears up above

My moment to think is suddenly taken

Now I can not only just see his glove

From my daydream I have now awaken

 

A dreadful liquid brushes my head

An awful, eerie sound I hear

Have I fallen into the dead?

In Harry’s mouth still a stench of Butterbeer

 

A gasp of air I wish to breathe

The watery sky I wish to see

Now may I finally be allowed to leave

And be the Snitch I wish to be?

 

Radiant sunlight beams through the opening

I flutter with excitement

Madam Hooch performs The Beckoning

Has all this fun just been an experiment?

 

The beginning has come to an end

The box is once again my home

But I still have a message to send

As I land on my bed of foam…

 

Will anyone ever see this secret life?

 

A Lost Starling

Asha & Ida

 

Desperate, helpless

I begin to lose height

Battered and bruised by the cruel winter’s night

I sink even lower as the flock soars above

Swallowed up by the storm over the town that I love       

“Wait!” I cry, “Please don’t leave!”

But my voice can’t be heard in the howling breeze

The others fly ahead, leaving me alone

Nowhere to go, nowhere to call home.

 

Suddenly an archway of colour appears

A semicircle of love, of joy and of tears

Hope blossoms inside, stronger than ever

As I begin to realise, it’s now or never…

 

I fly up through red, dripping blood and gore

I glide into orange as a feint sunset lures

Next, I skip over yellow, sun shining on my face

Swimming in green as I increase the pace

Then through blue, the crystal-clear sea

As I watch indigo night skies fold around me.

 

Suddenly I come to a desperate halt

I see the flock, my squad, my cult,

I join them, soaring high above

Home sweet home, again, I am loved!

 

 

FALLING

Otto & Arthur

 

Dropping through the storm

Falling, falling, falling down

Freezing sheets of rain

 

Blustering wind blows

Now growing even stronger

Blowing in my face

 

Lighting up the sky

Thunder booming all around

Lightning flashing close

 

Grey clouds whirl about

Spinning, forming a vortex

All around me  

 

Trees ripped out the ground

Debris cluttering the sky

Falling down, down, down, down

 

Ground speeds towards me     

This is where my life’s cut short

Suddenly I stop!

 

My momentum ends

This is a fabrication

I must be dreaming

 

Hovering weightless

Is this even possible?

Or am I now dead?

 

Not dead, dreaming, so

Could I be able to fly?

I may as well try!

 

BRASS BOTTLE

Stevie & Daisy

 

Imprisoned, writhing, trapped

Cramped in here with no space to move

In this brass bottle with its lid firmly capped.                       

No space even for a nook or a groove

 

“But how did you get in there?” π

I hear you ask

That’s a story to hold close and dear

A tale almost lost in the past

 

But what am I thinking?

I see cracks appear in the walls

I hear the lid clinking

Released by a woman draped in jewels 

            

Her first wish she utters…what will it be?

“Genie, I wish to set you free!”

 

Freed from my prison, I start to fly

I climb higher and higher, I begin to soar

Swimming in air currents, high in the sky

Away from my brass bottle, forgotten on the floor

 

I glide out of the palace and above the sands

Over the wonderful kingdom, all for me

But what are those grey cuts in the land

Stretching as far as the eye can see?

 

But wait! 

! see metal horses

Advancing at a perilous rate

Pulled by eerie, unseen forces

 

One of them spots me, I get out of there quick

Only at safety will I stop

I spot some hills, I’ll take my pick

Ah, yes, a snowy mountain top

 

I use one wish to send me down

One wish of my two

Who will find me underground?

Maybe it’ll be you…?

 

Bat Zap Hunt

Pip

 

I am the Pipestrella Bat

Flying through pine trees

Quick, like a scurrying rat

Gliding on the breeze

 

In the daytime I sleep

In the caves my wingbeats roar      

In houses I hide deep

In the night I swoop and soar

 

Hanging from the dark cave ceiling

Wind battering me

A cold shivery feeling

Then a delicious insect I see

 

I crunch the ladybug,          

Dripping with crimson blood.        

On its head I tug…

Then the scarlet flood

 

Now it’s time to hunt again

An abandoned village appears

I see some zombie men

I shiver and shudder with fear

 

Swooping down I find

A dead human covered in flies

I ignore the fear that fills my mind

I don’t want to look in his eyes

 

I quickly flutter and flit

To gobble the flies in the air

I see the zombie men hit

Now I want to fly away up there…

 

I am the Pipestrella bat

Flying though pine trees

Quick like a scurrying rat

I’m gliding on the woodland breeze

 

 

COME ON BRIGHTON!

Kaya & Chris

 

A few years ago

Brighton had nothing to show

Flying so low

Just couldn’t get up and go

 

Dropping down, losing height,

Not even a single bit of flight

No light, no delight,

Nothing left to give…no fight

 

Then these Seagulls flew a little bit higher

Starting to have a bit more desire

In their bellies, a bit more fire

Lewis Dunk was not so tired

 

Beating everyone, team after team

Brighton and Hove Albion building the dream

Getting point after point slowly they’re redeemed

Flying higher and higher, shining like a light beam

 

Developing well like a butterfly from a caterpillar

Attacking league tables like a serial killer

See them rising up through the ranks they’ll thrill ya

Stop supporting Palace, will ya!

 

Now they’re soaring high to the very top

And the other teams are just gonna flop

Onward into Europe, they’ll never drop

De Zerbi says “We’re never gonna stop!”

 

Ordinary Life (of a seagull)

Oren

 

I like to go fishing

Catch things from the sea

But now I fly above Brighton

Chips are good food for me

 

I check the best restaurants

Pavilion, Queen’s Park, the Pier

Then, of course, along the seaside,

I’ll probably find chips here!

 

A snatch, a gobble

These chips are good

A nip, a nibble

Time for some pud

 

Suddenly I hear 

A deafening squawk

I look up abruptly

Oh no! It’s a hawk!

 

I fly away quickly

Away from the beach

I look right behind me

The hawk’s within reach!

 

Wait! That means I’m

Within reach of the hawk

 

I fly even faster

Away from that beast

But I’m weighed down heavily

Because of that big chip feast

 

I think I’ve lost him

And I’m waddling across a square

I know just where to go

The hawk won’t find me there…

 

The Jubilee Library is where I go

Surrounded by rows of books

I hear voices from the back

The kids’ area, from how it looks. 

 

People are reading poems

And one is all about me

I listen and hear all about

Me eating chips by the sea.

 

Sea Dragon

Misty

 

As I pushed up through the liquid dark 

I felt the water keeping me down, 

Heavy against my tired wings

How much longer is there to go?

I wish I wasn’t trapped in here

Swimming and swimming and swimming

Pushing through for days and days.

As I glance up, I see some light

A faint glimmer getting brighter and more bright

Breaking through the gloomy dark

Is that the sun?

Maybe?

Am I close?

Yes!

My wings break through the surface

And salt water streams off my scales,

Finally, I am free from this watery prison

Flying high, far from the sea

I feel a thunderstorm ahead

Tingling my scales

Should I take cover for the day?

But no! The storm has already hit

 

Whatever should I do?

 

Rain strikes me

Pushing me side to side

Wings get battered

By lightning bolts

 

Whatever should I do?

 

Just as I feel like giving up

And diving back down below

I’m suddenly free from the tempest

And the land below is so beautiful:

Amazing flowers everywhere

Sunflowers, daisies, buttercups, poppies…

 

I soar up into the azure sky

But my wings are getting tired

Maybe I could sleep 

On those puffy things up there?

Yes, they would be nice and soft…

 

I gently land on the fluffy whiteness

I twist and turn 

To make my bed…

 

And…

 

(yawn)

 

I go to sleep.

 

 

TRASH PRINCESS

Leona

 

I am a Seagull, your ordinary Trash Princess

I fly from sea to sea, nicking everything

Even your tea!

 

Even though you’ve seen me in the past

Don’t worry, it’s not the last

Your queen has arrived, no need to run

Your food is good enough for everyone

I’ll eat everything, even trash

But your chips are my fave, I hate mash!

I’m manipulative, you see,

I wait for you to sit down…then it’s time for tea!

 

You know you should be thankful that I’m here

Even though you can’t stand me, my dear

I’m famous, that’s why everyone offers me their food

Even the surfers shout “’S’up dude?”

 

Not to brag, but I’ve a palace made of cans

I sleep there whilst you lie on the beach to get a tan

By the way, this is my beach

So, “No more autographs!”, I screech

Okay, okay, that’s enough for me today,

But, just remember, I rule the bay!

 

PENGUIN TRAGEDY

Ezra & Henry S

 

I’m a bird

My dream is to fly

This may sound absurd

But I can’t soar in the sky

 

Sitting in the snow

Binoculars held up 

No birds will show

Hot cocoa in my cup

I flap and flap

But I just can’t do it

The other birds fly lap after lap

But all I can do is sit

Look at that young one

What’s he trying to do?

While the other birds are having fun

He sits on the ground looking blue

 

I imagine myself flying

The wind would press against my wings

But I hear myself sighing

I can only imagine these things

 

He looks just like he’s dreaming

Staring at the other birds

He looks jealous, it ‘seeming

He can’t fly, in other words

 

I’ve tried everything I can

So, it’s time to risk it all

Up the hill then jump, is the plan

Off the edge I’ll either fly or fall

 

Where’s he going now?

Up the cliff he goes

He’s gonna jump, but how?

Surely the consequence he knows?

 

Leaping into the air

I’m flying, I’m flying!

I start flapping in despair,

I’m dying, I’m dying!

 

But my soul flies above

My dream is coming true

Into the sky I love

Into the deep dark blue…

                                   I’m free!